A Different Path
by Rahul24
Summary: Harry is understandably upset after Sirius' death. But a letter from a certain red-headed girl gives him an idea:to fight back. Follow Harry as he trains to try and make Sirius proud. Independent Harry.
1. Chapter 1

**A Different Path**

 **Chapter 1: A Spark**

Sirius was dead. Sirius was never coming back. Sirius was gone. These thoughts stayed in Harry's head through the night, not allowing him to sleep. Harry was shaken out of his trance by the clicking of a beak. Pig was on the windowsill, with another letter. This was the third night after Harry had come back from his fifth year at Hogwarts and Ron and Hermione had already sent Harry three letters each. Each letter told him the same thing; that Sirius' death was not his fault. They didn't understand though. Harry looked at Pig in disgust, not wanting to read another letter from Ron or Hermione. Harry knew that if he just replied to them that they would stop sending him letters so frequently, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't have the heart to lie to them and tell them that he was alright. So instead, he let them worry and hoped they would get bored and stop sending him letters. Harry got up and took the letter from Pig, expecting to see Ron's messy handwriting. What he saw shocked him. The handwriting should seem unfamiliar to Harry as this person had never written to him. Yet he recognised that writing like he would Ron's or Hermione's. It was the handwriting of the girl he secretly had a crush on ever since his disastrous relationship with Cho had ended. Harry recognised this handwriting because he had started to take more notice of the all little details in relation to the girl. He knew the way she flipped her fiery red hair. He knew way the way she raised her right eyebrow when she was starting to get angry. And he knew her handwriting from watching her study all those times in the common room. It had hurt him so much when she had revealed she was going out with Dean on the train ride home. The letter was from Ginny.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I hope you don't mind me writing to you but I feel we've become good friends this past year and I wanted to write you a letter. I know you haven't replied to any of Ron or Hermione's letters, so you probably won't reply to mine either but I wanted to at least try. How are you feeling? Stupid question, I know but I had to ask. I won't harp on about you not feeling guilty about Sirius but I just wanted to let you know that it was NOT your fault, whatever you may like to think. I also wanted to let you know that if you ever need someone to talk to, then I'm here for you and always will be._

 _Now on to other things. Hermione's been staying here as it's not safe for her to stay with her parents, now that You-Know-Who knows she's a friend of yours. It's becoming more and more obvious that her and Ron like each other yet they both seem oblivious to it. It's driving me crazy. Also, Fred and George have been showing me some of their new products and I'm really impressed. Their shop is going to do so well. Bill is back from Egypt for the summer and he's been taking me places. He took me to a Quidditch game and a Muggle theatre, where we watched a movie and ate lots of popcorn. It was great._

 _Well that's all I have to say. Don't let your sadness rule you. Fight back and do Sirius proud._

 _Love Ginny_

Harry just smiled while reading the letter. He always felt that Ginny understood him better than anyone, even Ron or Hermione. She subtly told him to stop weeping about Sirius' death without going on about it and told him what was going on with her summer to distract him from the pain he was feeling. It was exactly what he needed. However, there was one line that stood out to him. She told him to fight back. As he had read this line, a spark went off in Harry's mind and he formed an idea of what he was going to do this summer. She probably didn't mean it like this but Harry found himself envisioning a battle between him and the Death Eaters. He would do exactly what Ginny had said and fight back. For Sirius.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Going to Diagon Alley**

Harry woke up early the next day, determined to train hard. First, he replied to Ginny's letter, telling her a bit about his training plans without giving too much away. He wanted to tell her about the prophecy but decided against it as he didn't want to scare her away. He also asked how her relationship with Dean was going, although this pained him greatly to do. He then pulled on some of Dudley's old joggers and went outside after grabbing some toast for breakfast. His Aunt glared daggers at him, but Harry shrugged it off, fully focused on starting his training. He spent the next hour jogging around Little Whinging, trying to improve his fitness. Harry knew that Aurors were usually in good shape so that they could dodge curses and he had decided getting in shape would be his first step in becoming a better fighter. He then went to the local park, completing activities like push-ups and squats to build up his strength. After taking a break and having some lunch, Harry went to the local youth club and used the boxing equipment they had available to work on his strength again. Harry continued the same routine every day and felt he was making some good progress. Although there was nothing different about his appearance, he could definitely feel himself gaining some muscle. Hermione and Ron were still sending him letters, albeit less frequently. He still hadn't replied to either one of them. Harry kept up a regular correspondence with Ginny as he felt she was the only one he could really talk to, especially with Sirius gone. However, he was careful not to get too attached as she had a boyfriend. A week after Harry had begun his training regime he was eating some lunch in his room when he received an owl from Gringotts. They wanted Harry to come to Gringotts at his earliest convenience for the reading of the will of Sirius. Harry read the letter with tears brimming in his eyes. This was another reminder that Sirius was gone. The one person in his life that truly loved him was gone. However, instead of becoming too upset, Harry pushed his pain down, reminding himself that he was doing everything he could to get Sirius justice, and thought of a plan to get to Diagon Alley. An hour later, Harry was wearing an overlarge hoodie to disguise himself and was on the Knight Bus with nothing but his letter from Gringotts and a bag full of Galleons. The ride was certainly not pleasant, yet this was the only way Harry could think of to get to Diagon Alley. He was dropped off outside the Leaky Cauldron and made his way to Gringotts.

Harry reached Gringotts, thanking his lucky stars that no one had recognised him in Diagon Alley. Harry showed his letter to one of the goblins, who led him to a private room at the back and asked him to wait there for a few minutes. Soon, another goblin entered the room and Harry recognised him instantly.

"Hello, Griphook," Harry said as Griphook went to sit opposite him. To say this startled Griphook would be a major understatement. Griphook stood staring at Harry in shock for a few minutes, as if not believing his ears.

"You remember my name Mr Potter?" Griphook asked hesitantly, unsure if he was going crazy.

"Of course Griphook," answered Harry, wondering why this this was such a big deal.

"You…are an unusual wizard Mr Potter. Not many wizards bother to remember the names of their account managers at Gringotts. Well anyway, would I be correct in assuming that you are here for the reading of the will of Sirius Black?"

Harry nodded. Griphook proceeded to read the will of Sirius, who had left Remus five hundred thousand galleons and left everything else to Harry. This included six million galleons and several properties that were located around the world. There was also a lot of other stuff, like precious jewels and family heirlooms. Harry didn't care about any of it though. These things wouldn't bring Sirius back. Instead, they would be a constant reminder to Harry that Sirius was dead. However, there was one thing that Harry was pleased to have gained from the will and that was Sirius' personal journal. After taking this journal from Griphook and thanking him, Harry left Gringotts and made his way back to 4 Privet Drive, eager to start reading his late godfather's journal.

 **A/N: I hope you enjoy the latest chapter. I'm aiming to add a new chapter every two days, if not daily. The chapters will become much longer once Harry goes back to Hogwarts. Be sure to review and give your honest opinions on this story so far.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Harry's Birthday**

The next few weeks for Harry were some of the best he had ever spent at 4 Privet Drive. His mornings and afternoons consisted of training, which was definitely beginning to show in Harry's physical appearance. He was still pretty skinny but his upper body was becoming toned. He also began to plan how he would continue his training at Hogwarts without letting anyone know. Harry often stayed up late at night, reading through Sirius' journal. This journal had proved to be so much more than Harry had expected when he first got it. Harry wasn't really sure what he had expected but he had definitely not expected this. The first half of Sirius' journal had descriptions of all the pranks he and the Marauders had carried out at Hogwarts. Harry was amused to see Snape's name as the target of a lot of the pranks. However, the second half of the journal was what really caught Harry's eye. The second half of Sirius' journal was more of a notebook and had some incredible tips on different parts of magic that Sirius had perfected whilst he was alive. It contained tips on how to become an animagus, which could be useful to Harry if he needed to sneak away from school to battle Death Eaters, which he was planning to do. The journal also provided some really advanced spells that would be incredibly useful in a duel. There was also information on the proper ways to learn Occlumency, which Harry had been practising every day. This was especially useful to Harry as it would enable him to keep his secret training from Snape and Dumbledore, who he knew were trained Legilimens. Harry was still incredibly angry at Dumbledore for basically controlling his life and he would definitely not tell the Headmaster his plans of training to battle the Death Eaters and getting justice for Sirius. Harry had also found out from the journal that under-age magic could not be detected near areas full of other magical presences. Therefore, Harry had taken the Knight Bus to Hogsmeade every day, where he would go to the Shrieking Shack and conjure dummies to practice some of the new curses he had learned from Sirius's journal. Harry had always been a great dueller for his age, but he felt he was becoming pretty incredible with all of his new training.

Harry actually felt happy at this moment in time; a feeling he had definitely never felt before at 4 Privet Drive. He felt as if was actually doing something worthwhile. He was actually going to fight back and this excited him so much. Harry was so caught up in his happiness that he had lost track of the date. On the morning of the 31st July, Harry woke to a loud screeching of owls. ' _Wait…why does it sound like there is a whole group of owls outside?'_ Harry thought to himself as he got out of bed. Sure enough when Harry got to the window, there were four owls waiting for him. Harry recognised Pig and Errol, but he did not recognise the other two. Harry was very confused as to why there would be so many owls for him. He opened the window and took the two letters and packages from Pig first, recognising Ron and Hermione's handwriting. As he read the letters, he realised that it was his birthday. Hermione and Ron had wrote in their letters that Harry would soon be coming to The Burrow, which actually upset Harry as he knew he would not be able to train as hard at The Burrow. But then again, he would be able to see Ginny's beautiful face again so it wouldn't be all bad. Harry quickly opened the packages that Ron and Hermione had sent before he could daydream any more about Ginny. Ron had gotten him a box of chocolate frogs, while Hermione had brought him a book on Defensive Magic. Harry quickly wrote out two thank you notes and sent them off with Pig to Ron and Hermione. Those were the first two letters that Harry had sent to his best friends all summer and he felt a quick pang of guilt when realising this. However, Harry brushed it aside as it wasn't really all his fault. Hermione and Ron had kept sending him letters with the same message: that Sirius' death was not his fault and that Sirius wouldn't want Harry to feel guilty. Why should Harry bother to respond to these types of letters? His friends acted like they knew what he was feeling when in actual fact they were so far off the mark. Granted, at the beginning of summer, he was feeling incredibly guilty, but Harry had gotten over that. His friends must have thought that he was incapable of feeling better without their help.

Putting these thoughts aside, Harry went to untie the two letters from Errol, as well as taking the two packages that had been sent. Harry recognised Ginny's handwriting and his heart jumped up. He was touched that she had remembered when his birthday was. Ginny had gotten him a chain with a black shaggy dog on it. Harry just stared at it for a few minutes before smiling and putting it on, trying to stop any tears from flowing. Once again, Ginny seemed to understand what the perfect gift for Harry would be. Harry couldn't stop smiling as he thought about Ginny. ' _Damn, she is perfect,_ ' he thought to himself. Shaking himself out of it, he opened his other presents. Mrs Weasley had sent him a brilliant chocolate cake, which reminded him of Ginny's beautiful eyes. ' _STOP Harry, she has a boyfriend'_ he told himself and mentally slapped himself. Hagrid had sent Harry a pocket-knife, which Harry thought was great. The last owl was from Hogwarts, which Harry thought was odd. It was too early to be getting the booklist for the new school year. But then he remembered. OWL results. Harry tentatively opened the envelope and unfolded the parchment inside.

 _ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS FOR HARRY JAMES POTTER:_

 _Astronomy: A_

 _Care of Magical Creatures: E_

 _Charms: O_

 _Defence Against the Dark Arts: O_

 _Divination: A_

 _Herbology: E_

 _History of Magic: P_

 _Potions: E_

 _Transfiguration: O_

Harry read through his results several times, grinning wider and wider each time. He had gotten eight OWLS. EIGHT! He had only failed History of Magic, although he had a plausible excuse for that. Harry couldn't believe he had done so well. He had gotten three Outstanding grades. Harry took a seat on his bed, still grinning like crazy, and began to eat the birthday cake he had received from Mrs Weasley, content with the direction his life was going in.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Contacting an Old Friend**

Harry had been training very hard so far this summer. It was three days after his 16th birthday and he was pleased with his progress. He had improved incredibly both physically and magically, and he now felt he could start to put some of his plans into action. Hence, he wrote a letter to Remus to ask him to meet him at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch on the 7th August. He also asked Remus to not tell anyone about this as Harry didn't want anyone knowing that he was travelling to Diagon Alley by himself, especially not Dumbledore. Remus had written back to Harry later that day, saying that he would meet Harry at the time and location mentioned and that he would keep this to himself. Harry was excited yet nervous for this meeting. This meeting with Remus could make or break all of his other plans and Harry badly needed this meeting to go well.

Harry woke up at 6:00am on the 7th August, feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead. Today was the day he was going to Diagon Alley to meet with Remus. Harry needed to buy a few other things as well, which was why he was up so early. Harry saw an owl waiting for him, which had the Daily Prophet clutched in its beak. Harry had decided to subscribe to the Daily Prophet because he needed to know if Voldemort was increasing his attacks now that the Ministry had finally acknowledged his return. Harry also needed to know how Voldemort and his followers typically attacked as Harry would soon be entering the fray and he needed all the knowledge that he could get. Voldemort had been quiet so far this summer but Harry should've known it was too good to last. Harry unfolded the Daily Prophet today to see a sickening sight on the front page. The front page had a picture of the Dark Mark in the sky, which led to Harry being caught up in the memories of the events that occurred at the Quidditch World Cup two years ago, where Harry had first seen the feared Dark Mark. Shaking himself out of these horrid memories, Harry proceeded to read the article. Twenty Death Eaters had tortured and killed a village full of Muggles before burning the whole village down. The Daily Prophet estimated that over 500 Muggles had died in this attack. Harry threw the paper away in disgust and ran downstairs for a quick breakfast, trying to force the image of the Dark Mark out of his mind. His relatives were still ignoring him and pretending that he didn't exist but that was fine by Harry. After finishing his breakfast, Harry went back upstairs to sort out his trunk. He threw away everything that he didn't need any more and his trunk was nearly empty after he had done this. This took him nearly two hours to do. Harry left the house with his trunk at half past eight and called the Knight Bus to take him to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry had spent more than 100 galleons this summer on the Knight Bus alone, but he didn't really have much choice as he didn't know how to apparate yet.

Once Harry arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, he made his way to a dark alleyway in Diagon Alley, near Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Here he quickly disguised himself. Harry changed his hair to a dirty blonde colour and made his skin colour much darker. He also changed his eye colour to brown. He was still somewhat recognisable, but he thought he had done a pretty good job regardless. Harry made sure that his fringe covered his scar before leaving the alleyway, making his way to Gringotts so that he could withdraw some money.

Harry took out 300 galleons from his vault and put it in one of the big money bags that Gringotts offered to all their customers. Harry would never normally withdraw so much money, but he knew he would be making some big purchases today. Harry left Gringotts in search of his first destination: Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. He brought himself two sets of schools robes as he had outgrown his other ones quite a bit. He also saw a beautiful red dress that he thought would look great on Ginny. He was planning to buy her a birthday present today anyway so this was perfect. It cost him 75 galleons but he didn't mind at all. He just hoped that Ginny, or Ron for that matter, wouldn't make a big deal out of it. Harry shrunk both his school robes and the dress he had brought for Ginny before putting them carefully into his trunk.

Harry then went to the apothecary, where he needed to buy ingredients for an Animagus Revealer potion that he had seen in Sirius' journal. Harry spent the best part of an hour searching for the right ingredients and was glad to finally leave the shop. Harry placed the potion ingredients in his trunk before wandering around Diagon Alley. Harry still had an hour to go before he was supposed to meet Remus so he just walked around aimlessly looking for other shops that seemed interesting. He walked past Quality Quidditch Supplies and saw a small jewellery shop that he had never seen before. Of course Harry would never have paid any attention to a jewellery shop before. He went inside, looking for another birthday gift for Ginny. After consulting with the sales assistant, Harry brought a lovely gold bracelet and a stunning emerald charm for the bracelet. Harry left the jewellery shop and found another interesting shop which sold rare magical products. Harry went inside to search through the products, hoping to find something that might be useful to him. He found nothing useful and was about to leave when something caught his eye. Harry quickly made his way over to the back of the shop, where he saw a set of two-way mirrors. Sirius had given Harry one of these last year but Harry had broken his mirror and he didn't know where Sirius' mirror was. Harry brought the set of two-way mirrors, thinking that he could give one to Remus if Remus agreed to Harry's proposals in their meeting soon. The mirrors cost Harry close to 100 galleons but it would be worth it in the long run. Harry then left and went to the Leaky Cauldron, where he ordered a private room so that he could talk to Remus without anyone overhearing their conversation. Harry gave Tom, the barkeeper, a detailed description of what Remus looked like and told Tom to bring Remus up to the private room when Remus arrived.

Twenty minutes later, Harry was nervously pacing and thinking of what he was going to say to Remus when he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," Harry called out. Remus opened the door but didn't walk in. He had a surprised expression on his face, which confused Harry.

"Oh my apologies, it seems like I have got the wrong room," Remus told Harry, which confused Harry even more. Harry then realised what was wrong. He was still disguised and Remus hadn't recognised him.

"Wait Remus, it's me Harry". Harry then proceeded to undo all of his transformations. Remus looked shocked for a moment before relaxing and smiling. Remus entered the room, greeting Harry with a bone-crushing hug and complimenting Harry's disguise. Remus and Harry then sat down at the table and began ordering lunch. Through lunch, Harry discussed many things with Remus, such as how he was coping with the death of Sirius, without talking about his training or any of his future plans. Harry waited for them both to finish lunch and then began to broach the subject of why he had really invited Remus here.

"Remus, as I'm sure you have probably guessed, I have something important to discuss with you. However, first I need you to make the Oath of Magic so that anything I tell you from now on will stay between us." Harry saw that Remus was about to protest, so he carried on quickly. "I'm serious Remus; I can't risk you saying anything to Dumbledore or anyone else. If you don't want to make the oath, then I'll leave now and we can go our separate ways."

"Where did you even learn about the Oath of Magic?" Remus questioned Harry. It seemed to Harry that Remus was stalling for time but Harry didn't mind.

"I've been doing my research…" Harry smiled knowingly. Harry had in fact seen this oath in Sirius' journal. Sirius had once tried to trick Peter into making this oath but Harry's father had stopped him. Once a person makes the Oath of Magic, their magic will prevent them from breaking their promise at all costs. It was impossible to break. Remus reluctantly made the oath and Harry proceeded to tell him all about his summer, from training to reading all of the information in Sirius' journal, and his future plans to help the Order bring down Voldemort's followers. The only thing that he left out was the prophecy that Dumbledore had shared with him last year. Harry wasn't quite ready to tell anyone that piece of information yet. Remus' facial expression was constantly changing between shock, worry and pride, which amused Harry greatly. Once Harry had discussed everything, he stopped for a few minutes, allowing Remus to take in everything he had said.

"That explains why you look so much more muscular," Remus mused, causing Harry to blush slightly. "Well Harry, I think you are too young to be fighting Death Eaters but it might be a good idea for you to start fighting back, especially as Voldemort seems especially keen on killing you. But why did you tell me all of this?"

"Well Remus…I need your help and you're one of the only people in my life that I trust," Harry nervously answered. Remus raised an eyebrow at this but didn't say anything so Harry took this as his cue to continue. "I need someone in the Order to give me information. I know that the Order fights against the Death Eaters, so I just need you to tell me when and where the Death Eaters are attacking so that I can join the fight. Please Remus, I need to do this. I need to fight back and I can't do it without your help." It was hard for Harry to admit to needing help from someone, yet he knew that this time he really needed help.

"Harry, I am interested in what you have to say but there are a few vital flaws with your plan. How will I contact you when the Death Eaters are attacking? How will you keep this from Dumbledore? Dumbledore is a master Legilimens and will be able to know what you are doing. How will you escape from Hogwarts to help fight? I'm just not sure that you have thought this through properly."

Harry just sighed. He was always being underestimated. He wasn't stupid; of course he had thought everything through. Harry answered Remus' first question, telling him about the purchase of the two-way mirrors. Harry then answered the second question by reminding Remus that he was practising Occlumency every day with Sirius' tips and that he could definitely feel improvements in the shielding of his mind. Harry could tell that Remus was impressed with the amount of effort Harry had put into his plans and this gave Harry confidence to continue. Harry tried to answer the last question, telling Remus that he hoped that his animagus form might be able to help him with leaving Hogwarts, but if not then he would think of something else. Remus was sceptical about Harry being able to become an animagus in such a short period of time but Harry assured Remus that he could find another way to leave Hogwarts if he could not perfect his animagus form. Harry held his breath, awaiting Remus' judgement.

Remus took a deep breath and then began to speak. "Well Harry I am surprised that you have planned all of this so well. I will agree to be your eyes and ears within the Order, but there are certain things you must agree to first. Firstly, I will meet you every week in the Shrieking Shack and test your duelling skill. Only once I deem you able enough will I allow you to fight against the Death Eaters. Secondly, if you get injured in any battle, you are to return to Hogwarts immediately to receive healing. Thirdly, you need to tell someone else this secret. It could be Ron or Hermione or anyone else at Hogwarts but you must tell someone soon. I know first-hand how secrets can tear a person apart. You need to agree to all three of these conditions or I will be forced to refuse your proposal of being your eyes and ears." Remus sat back, waiting for Harry to reply. Harry had some misgivings about these conditions, especially the last one as he had no idea who he would confide in. Nevertheless, he agreed and gave Remus one of the two-way mirrors before leaving and heading back to 4 Privet Drive, pleased with his day's work.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The Burrow**

Harry had been training even harder since the meeting with Remus. It had been exactly a week since Remus had agreed to help Harry and it now felt much more real to Harry that he would soon be fighting against Death Eaters. He was excited, yet nervous. Harry had brewed the Animagus Revealer potion as soon as he had got home from meeting with Remus and he was pleased with the outcome. The potion revealed that Harry's animagus form was a black falcon with green eyes. If Harry could manage to complete the animagus transformation quickly, it could be very useful.

Harry had also found more useful information in Sirius' journal. Apparently, Sirius and James had discovered a potion that would allow you to become a temporary animagus. Sirius noted that the potion wore off after three hours. This excited Harry as it solved his dilemma of how he would be able to leave Hogwarts to help fight against the Death Eaters. He didn't have to even prefect his animagus transformation as long as he had this potion with him. The only side effect was extreme tiredness the next day, but this didn't worry Harry too much. The ingredients were very common and Harry had already brewed 12 flasks of the potion. Harry wrote a letter to Remus explaining his new findings and Remus had agreed with him that it solved the problem of how to leave Hogwarts.

Harry had sent Ginny both of the gifts he had brought for her two days ago and she still had yet to reply. He really hoped that she had liked his gifts but he wasn't sure since she hadn't replied to him. Ron had sent him a letter the day before, saying that Mr Weasley would be picking Harry up today at 5:00pm to take him to The Burrow. Harry packed everything he had into his trunk, waiting for Mr Weasley to pick him up. Harry had tried to tell his aunt and uncle that he would be leaving but they refused to even acknowledge his presence.

Mr Weasley knocked on the front door at precisely 5 o'clock and Harry raced down the stairs to greet him. Harry brought his trunk down and left with Mr Weasley. Mr Weasley and Harry walked down into a dark alleyway, where Mr Weasley told Harry to hold his arm tightly. Harry did so and felt Mr Weasley's arm twist away from him. Harry redoubled his grip and suddenly was thrown into darkness. The next thing he knew he was standing outside The Burrow.

"H-How?" Harry managed to splutter out.

"Side-Along Apparition," Mr Weasley said while smiling. Harry nodded weakly before following Mr Weasley into the Burrow.

Harry had hardly passed through the front door before he was engulfed in a bone-crushing hug. Harry had a quick moment to catch his breath before he was being hugged forcefully again. He realised that the two people who had hugged him were Mrs Weasley and Hermione. Ron was standing awkwardly behind Hermione and slapped Harry in the back as a greeting. Hermione dragged Ron and Harry up to Ron's room, where they discussed their summers. Harry had to lie a lot and he made it seem like he was stuck inside his house all day every day. Hermione had just begun to scold Harry for not replying to any of their letters when Ginny entered the room and asked Harry for a private word. Harry followed Ginny to her bedroom, feeling nervous. Harry realised that this was the first time ever that he had entered Ginny's bedroom, which he found surprising considering how much time he had spent at The Burrow. Harry's eyes roamed around Ginny's bedroom but his eyes kept glancing back to Ginny. _'God, she's beautiful,'_ Harry thought, wishing that he could embrace her. Harry restrained himself and waited for Ginny to start speaking. Ginny, it seemed, couldn't keep her eyes from Harry and his newly toned body. Harry was suddenly much more thankful that he had started training over the summer. Ginny finally spoke, starting by thanking him profusely for the birthday gifts he had gotten for her, saying that she loved them, before enquiring how much they cost. Harry had been dreading this and was saved from answering the question by Mrs Weasley's calls for dinner. As Harry turned to leave, Ginny hugged Harry and thanked him again before running down the stairs, leaving Harry grinning like an idiot.

The next day Harry woke up at seven, eager to start his training. He changed and tiptoed down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible so as to not wake anyone up. Mr and Mrs Weasley were already up and were talking in the kitchen while eating breakfast. They were surprised to see Harry up so early and he explained that over the summer he had started running in the mornings for 'health reasons'. He also asked them not to tell anyone about this as he didn't want Ron, Hermione or Ginny to know yet. Mrs Weasley warned Harry to not run too far away before she let him go. Harry jogged for over half an hour in the fields behind The Burrow. He then found an enclosed area that could not be seen from The Burrow and started practising some advanced hexes on a tree. Sweating and panting, but pleased with his morning's training, Harry went back to The Burrow for some breakfast. Ron, Hermione and Ginny had yet to wake, or so Harry thought. Little did he know that Ginny had been watching him training from her bedroom window.

The next couple of weeks flew by for Harry. He continued his training every morning, feeling more and more confident in his abilities. He had been practising rolling so that he would be able to dodge hexes. Harry had also learned some very advanced spells and he couldn't help but notice how powerful his spells seemed. He still had not told any of his friends about his training and wasn't planning to do so in the near future, no matter what he promised Remus. Harry had noticed Ginny shooting him suspicious looks and for a moment he thought she knew that he had a crush on her, but after some thought he knew that this was impossible. The Hogwarts letters had come a week before term started and Harry saw that he was named Quidditch captain. This was a pleasant surprise as he thought that Katie would have gotten it. Mrs Weasley took them all to Diagon Alley the day after their Hogwarts letters arrived so that they could buy all of their new supplies. Whilst Harry was in Flourish and Blotts buying his required books, he found a section of books on advanced charms and hexes that he thought would be useful. These books weren't supposed to be sold to anyone not of age, but when the shopkeeper saw Harry's scar he made no mention of this rule.

Harry had also been spending a lot of time with Ginny. Their friendship had been developing quite quickly thanks to Ron and Hermione. Ron and Hermione had been bickering a lot more this summer and whenever this happened Harry and Ginny would sneak off together to get away from the shouts of their friends. Harry savoured every moment he spent alone with Ginny and he was glad that their relationship was becoming closer. On the last day before they were going to Hogwarts, Harry was sitting silently with Ginny under a tree, just enjoying her presence. He felt so calm with her by his side and he had the sudden desire to tell her the truth about his summer. Harry made a slightly rash decision and gave in to his desire, telling Ginny the truth about his summer and his future plans. Her reaction was surprising to say the least. Ginny had told Harry that she had seen him training in the mornings and suspected this. She didn't try to stop him or try to get him to take her with him, like Hermione or Ron would. She knew he needed to do this and was thankful that he chose to confide in her. Harry wasn't exactly sure why he chose to tell Ginny, but when he did it had felt like a weight had just been lifted off his shoulders and he knew it was the right decision.

Harry was sad to see the summer holidays finish, but he couldn't deny that he missed Hogwarts a lot. After all, it had pretty much been his home for the last five years. On the night of the 31st August, Harry lay awake in his bed, pondering the challenges he would soon face. Harry had never had a normal year at Hogwarts and this coming year would be no exception.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Back to Hogwarts**

The traditional chaos that was usually present in the Weasley household on the morning of September 1st was missing this year. Ron and Ginny were the only Weasley children going to Hogwarts this year and as a result there was much less noise and panicking. Mrs Weasley took Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny to King's Cross via Knight Bus. Harry was really getting sick of the sight of the Knight Bus. They made it to King's Cross in good time and started boarding the train. Ron and Hermione had to go to the Prefects' compartment, so Harry asked Ginny if they should go find a compartment together. Ginny told him that she was going to sit next to Dean and left Harry alone. Harry pushed down the pain he felt at this and went off to find Neville and Luna. He really should have expected her to sit with her boyfriend. An image of Ginny and Dean kissing popped up in Harry's mind and Harry couldn't help but feel upset and jealous. The train ride was uneventful and in no time Harry found himself sitting down at the Gryffindor table, waiting for the feast to begin. It was announced that Snape would be the new DADA professor, much to Harry's dismay, while a man called Horace Slughorn would be the Potions master. The feast was over quickly and Harry went to sleep early, knowing he would be getting up early tomorrow to train.

The next day Harry woke up at half six in the morning, ready to train. All summer long Harry had been thinking about how he would train at Hogwarts and he had found the perfect solution. The Room of Requirement. After Harry had showered and changed, he made his way up to the seventh floor corridor, and walked past the stretch of blank wall three times, asking for a place to train. The Room of Requirement did not disappoint. Harry walked in and was speechless. The room had become the size of a Quidditch pitch. One side of the room was filled with Muggle gym equipment, such as treadmills and weights. The other side of the room was a duelling area, with three animated dummies standing next to each other. Harry spent the next two hours training hard. He was especially pleased with the dummies as they could move around and dodge Harry's spells while also firing spells themselves. They would definitely help Harry improve his duelling skills. Harry had to run to the Great Hall to be on time for breakfast as he had been so wrapped up with his training that he forgotten the time. At breakfast Harry got a note from Remus, asking Harry to meet with him at the Shrieking Shack at 7 o'clock tonight. Harry was excited for this as he couldn't wait to show Remus what he could do.

The day flew by and at dinner Harry was very quiet, contemplating his coming meeting with Remus. Hermione asked Harry what was wrong as Harry was never normally so quiet but Harry was able to shrug off her questions. Finally, the clock reached quarter to seven and Harry made his way down to the Whomping Willow under his Invisibility Cloak. He levitated a twig to press the small knot near the base of the tree, so that the tree would be immobilised. Harry then crawled through the passage that led to the Shrieking Shack.

Remus was already waiting for Harry by the time he made his way to the Shrieking Shack. Remus greeted Harry with a hug and then explained to Harry that they were going to duel. This was so that Remus could analyse Harry's duelling abilities. Their first duel lasted four minutes, with Remus eventually getting Harry with a Full Body-Bind Curse. Harry had been dodging Remus' spells well but Remus had been able to guess where Harry was going to move. Remus gave Harry a few pointers, telling him to make his movements less predictable and to be more aggressive. Harry won the second duel with a well-placed Jelly-Legs Curse, which left Remus wobbling around the room, followed by a Stunning spell. Harry revived Remus, who looked shocked at what had just happened but congratulated Harry nevertheless. Remus won the third and final duel, which lasted close to ten minutes and left them both panting by the end. Remus told Harry that he had not expected him to be so good and that Harry may be ready to help the Order earlier than Remus originally thought. Harry was delighted by the compliment and headed back to the common room, pleased with his first day back at Hogwarts.

September flew by for Harry. He was getting swamped with homework from all of his teachers, leaving him with little free time. Harry could sense himself drifting apart from Ron or Hermione. They still completed all of their homework together and walked to classes together but Harry could feel their friendship changing. Harry thought that Ron and Hermione were secretly dating as he saw them sneaking off together a lot of the time but Harry didn't know why they wouldn't have at least told him that they were dating. Meanwhile, Harry was spending a lot of time with Ginny and they were fast becoming best friends. The most pleasant part of Harry's day was always when Ginny would snatch Harry's quill from him while he was studying in the common room and just start talking to him. He pretended that he was annoyed by it but really he loved it and he was quite sure that Ginny knew he loved it.

Harry was still training hard every day and he felt more and more confident in his abilities. Harry didn't bother trying to become an animagus as he had the potion that would temporarily allow him to be one whenever he wanted. There had been three more Death Eater attacks during the month of September and the attacks were becoming more and more brutal. The Order was low on members and couldn't control the attacks. Harry had begged Remus to allow him to help but Remus had refused so far, saying that Harry wasn't ready yet.

On the last day of September, Harry had one of his meetings with Remus at the Shrieking Shack. Harry decided that he would go all out as he really wanted to convince Remus that he was ready to battle against the Death Eaters. Harry was in and out of the Shrieking Shack within five minutes. He destroyed Remus in the three duels, with no duel lasting longer than a minute. To say that Remus was shocked would be an understatement of great proportions. Remus agreed that Harry was ready to fight and told Harry that he would contact him via the mirrors when he had any information. Remus also told Harry that they didn't need to meet in the Shrieking Shack anymore. Remus then left quickly, declining Harry's offer of staying to talk. Harry realised that Remus was probably embarrassed by being beaten so badly by a 16 year old kid so he didn't mind. Harry was just so glad that he could finally start to fight back. He could finally fight against the darkness that had been chasing him his whole life.

Harry made his way to the Gryffindor common room, searching for Ginny so that he could tell her the good news. She wasn't there so Harry made his way to the Room of Requirement, thinking that he could train for a while and tell Ginny tomorrow instead. However, as Harry walked down the fifth floor corridor, he heard a noise from one of the empty classrooms. Intrigued, Harry looked through the door only to stumble backwards in shock. What he saw hurt him like nothing ever had before. Ginny and Dean were kissing passionately inside the classroom. Thankfully, they didn't see him. That was probably the only good thing about the whole situation. Harry ran away up to the seventh floor, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. He entered his training room but he suddenly didn't feel in the mood for training. He angrily wiped at his tears, wondering why he was crying. Harry was pained beyond belief but didn't know why. He knew that Ginny had a boyfriend but just seeing her kissing Dean so passionately made it so much more hurtful than he could ever have imagined. Cho had never had this effect on him. Why was this happening? Did he love Ginny? Harry wasn't sure but he was sure that he needed to control his emotions. But how could he do that? Harry realised the solution and a sense of grim determination filled him. He would have to avoid Ginny. He would have to stop being friends with her. Harry didn't want to but he had no choice. His training took priority over everything else and the situation between himself and Ginny would be a distraction if he didn't let her go soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Quidditch Trials**

The next few days were hard for Harry. He kept his distance from Ginny and he focused more and more on his training. The Room of Requirement was where he spent most of his time nowadays. Harry had even taken to studying and doing his homework in the Room of Requirement instead of the Common Room as the Room of Requirement had all the books he could ever need for his homework and it meant that Ginny couldn't corner him and talk to him while he was studying. He had seen Ginny in the hallways a few times but he had just walked straight past her, ignoring the hurt look on her face. Harry became more and more withdrawn from his friends, not that they seemed to mind, he thought bitterly. Harry knew that Ron and Hermione were probably too busy wrapped up with each other to notice Harry going missing but it hurt that his friends didn't even seem to care about him. Nevertheless it was for the best. After all, Harry knew that Voldemort was after him. The less friends Harry had, the less amount of leverage Voldemort could possibly have over him. It was just best to distance himself from everybody and do his job.

Harry was doing great in most of his subjects. Potions was much better with Professor Slughorn teaching him instead of Professor Snape. In one of the lessons, Professor Slughorn brought out a love potion called Amortentia. Amortentia has a different aroma for everyone who smells it, reminding each person of the things they find most attractive. Harry smelled treacle tart, the wooden scent of a broomstick handle and a mystery flowery scent that Harry couldn't identify. Ever since that lesson Harry had been obsessed with trying to figure out what the mystery scent was but he could not find any information on the scent and had eventually given up. Defence Against the Dark Arts was horrible with Snape as Professor and Harry began to wonder exactly why Dumbledore chose Snape to be the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.

Remus had sent Harry a letter a week after their last meeting in the Shrieking Shack, advising him to buy fully hooded robes so that his appearance would be concealed from both the Order members and the Death Eaters. These robes also shielded the wearer against minor curses and hexes. They were quite expensive but Harry didn't mind, seeing as money wasn't an issue for him. Harry sent Remus the required money, asking Remus to buy the robes for him, which he did. The robes arrived two days later and Harry stored them in his trunk with his temporary animagus potions. Harry now felt completely ready to fight.

One morning in mid-October, Harry was eating breakfast on his own when Professor McGonagall approached him and reminded him of his duties as Quidditch Captain. The first match was in December and Professor McGonagall was displeased that Harry hadn't even held trials yet. Harry had completely forgotten about Quidditch and now he wondered whether it was better for him to just resign and give the captaincy to somebody else, like Katie or Ron. However, he decided to at least hold the trials and he pinned a notice up in the Gryffindor Common Room to let everyone know that the trial would be held on Saturday morning at 9 o'clock.

On Saturday morning, Harry woke up feeling nervous. He had avoided interaction with most people during this school year so he wasn't exactly excited to lead the Quidditch trials. Harry trained for just over an hour in the Room of Requirement before getting breakfast. He ate quickly and went back to his dormitory to get his Firebolt, before making his way down to the Quidditch pitch. He went to the office of the Quidditch captain, which was in the changing rooms, and unlocked it using his badge. He then sat in silence for twenty minutes, thinking over what he wanted to do at the trials.

At last, the clock struck 9 and Harry left his office and went over to the Quidditch pitch. Over 60 people had come to the trial, which was nearly double what Harry expected. He sorted everyone according to their positions and trialled them position by position. He first held the trials for Keepers and sent everyone else to the stands. There was no outstanding choice, but Ron was the best out of the group so Harry selected Ron as the Keeper. Next, he held the trials for the Beaters. Again, there were no choices that even came close to the previous beaters, Fred and George. However, there were two players that seemed to be able to fly with a bat without falling down: Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote. Harry selected these two before moving on to the trials for the Chasers. He recognised a lot of people in this group: Ginny, Harry felt a familiar jolt in his stomach upon seeing her, Dean, Seamus and Katie and Colin Creevey to name a few. Harry noticed that Ginny and Dean were standing quite far apart away from each other, which caused him to smile. The Chaser trials were tough and Harry had a hard time selecting. Ginny and Katie were a certainty but the last spot was a tough choice between Dean and Seamus. Harry selected Seamus because he thought that Seamus worked better with his teammates than Dean. Or at least that's what he told himself. Harry revealed the results of the Chaser trials to the participants and Harry noticed Ginny flash an adorable smile. ' _Not adorable,'_ Harry mentally scolded himself. He called together everyone who made the team, congratulating them and promising them that practices would start soon. He then dismissed them and made his way back to his office. However, he was soon stopped by the one voice he both wanted and didn't want to hear.

"Hey Harry, wait up," Ginny called out to Harry. Harry quickly sped up, ignoring her but this didn't deter Ginny, who just followed him into his office.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT?"

"Whatever do you mean Ginevra?" Harry asked icily. Ginny glared at Harry for using her first name and became even angrier.

"You know exactly what I mean. You've been avoiding me. Why?" Ginny spoke in a deadly quiet voice which chilled Harry to the bone.

"Of course I haven't, don't be silly," responded Harry, trying to look indignant. To his surprise, Ginny started to break down in front of him.

"Don't lie to me. I've had a rough week and I can't even go to you, one of my best friends, for support because you're not speaking to me for some reason. You've even stopped coming to the Common Room. You probably don't even know that Dean and I broke up. I thought you and I had become really close and suddenly you just stopped talking to me. I don't know what happened but I just want things to go back to the way they were. Please." It hurt Harry to hear the pain in her voice, although he felt a shot of happiness surge through him against his will when she said that she and Dean had broken up.

"I'm sorry Gin. Things can't go back to the way they were," replied Harry quietly.

"And why not?" asked Ginny, fearing the answer.

"I can't go back to being best friends with you when I'm in love with you." Harry wasn't even sure if this was the case before today but standing here now saying it to her, he knew it was true. He was in love with Ginny Weasley. At this moment Harry realised what he had actually done. He had just confessed his love to Ginny. He didn't even look at Ginny to gauge her reaction. He just ran away back to the castle, embarrassed beyond belief, leaving a shocked Ginny standing in his office.

As Harry entered the castle, he felt a vibration in the pocket of his robes. He quickly entered the first empty class he saw and took out his mirror.

"Hello Remus, what news do you have for me?" enquired Harry upon seeing Remus' face in the mirror.

"Severus has just called an urgent Order meeting to be held in an hour. Usually when he does this, it means that he has information on a Death Eater attack. I'll contact you after the meeting is over to tell you all the details so be ready." Harry nodded and put the mirror back into his pocket. He then made his way down to the kitchens for some lunch, nervously waiting for Remus to call him back and trying not to think about the conversation he had just had with Ginny.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Harry's First Battle**

Nearly two hours later, Harry was writing up an essay for Transfiguration in the Room of Requirement when his mirror vibrated. Harry nervously removed it and held it in front of his face.

"Harry I don't have much time to explain so please do not interrupt me. The Death Eaters have a big attack lined up tonight. Severus says that they are planning to attack Hogsmeade and that 50 Death Eaters will be taking part in this attack. The Order has less than 40 available fighters so it's going to be hard to stop this attack. It is unclear why the Death Eaters are attacking Hogsmeade but I believe they are doing it to put more fear into people and make people lose their trust in the Ministry. It would also cause fear in the students at Hogwarts to know that a village so close to their school was attacked. Severus says that the attack will start sometime between 6 and 7 o'clock so I would recommend getting to Hogsmeade by quarter to six. Remember if you are hurt, leave the fight and go back to Hogwarts." Remus then turned off the mirror, leaving Harry overwhelmed with all the information he had just gotten.

The hours went by quickly for Harry, who stayed in the Room of Requirement finishing all of his homework and going over all the new hexes he had learned. At five o'clock Harry decided to make his move. He raced up to his dormitory and got his black hooded robes and temporary animagus potion from his trunk. Harry then went to the owlery where he hid his school robes in the back corner of the room and changed into his hooded robes. He then drank the temporary animagus potion, which didn't taste as bad as Harry expected. He tucked his wand into his robes and transformed into his animagus form. Harry spent five minutes getting used to being a falcon and flying before he took off. Harry felt great whilst flying. Flying as a bird was different to flying on a broom but it was just as fun and exciting. Harry also had an improved sense of direction in his animagus form and he reached Hogsmeade in no time. Harry stayed as a falcon and perched on top of the Three Broomsticks, waiting for the battle to commence.

Thirty minutes passed before Harry heard the tell-tale pop sounds of apparition. Harry saw the Death Eaters appear close to the Shrieking Shack, with Order members appearing moments later and engaging them in combat. Harry briefly wondered how the Order members appeared so quickly but he had no time to dwell on it. Harry flew down from his perch into a side alley. He transformed back into his human form and pulled his hood over his head. Harry pulled his wand out and silently flanked the Death Eaters. Harry saw several bodies drop, although he was unable to see if they were Order members or Death Eaters. Harry found a massive rock and hid behind it, waiting for the right time to start his attack. Harry saw a group of five Death Eaters run away from the battles that were occurring by the Shrieking Shack and quickly shot Stunning spells at each of them. Three of them were hit by the Stunning spells and toppled over while the other two, by pure luck, managed to step out of the way. Harry moved out from his hiding spot and attacked them ferociously. He used a Cutting Curse on one of them, which caused the Death Eater to drop their wand and fall to the ground. Harry then Stunned him and moved on to the Death Eater. However, this other Death Eater managed to cast a shield before Harry's Stunning Spell hit them and began to cast back. Harry narrowly dodged what he recognised as the Reductor Curse, which could have been fatal to him. Harry and the Death Eater began to duel viciously and Harry recognised that this Death Eater was a very good dueller. However, Harry was better. Harry hit the Death Eater with an Impediment Jinx, which slowed the Death Eater down, before Stunning them. Harry bounded all the Death Eaters he had Stunned and piled them up on top of each other.

Harry moved back towards the Shrieking Shack to help with the remaining fights. Mr Weasley had two Death Eaters fighting him but he was managing to hold his own. Harry silently Stunned the two unsuspecting Death Eaters and bound them. Harry nodded to Mr Weasley before moving on. The number of Death Eaters was slowly dwindling, but there were even less Order members remaining. The Order members seemed to have emergency Portkeys on them, which they activated when they were seriously injured. Harry hoped that not too many Order members had died but he was unsure if this was the case. Harry had just finished subduing another Death Eater when he heard a maniacal laugh. The laugh that had haunted his nightmares. Bellatrix's laugh. He ran towards the sound and found Tonks and Remus battling Bellatrix and two other Death Eaters. Harry decided to try to sneak up on Bellatrix. Harry was ten metres away from her. Nine metres away. Eight metres away. Harry inched closer and closer when he saw Bellatrix cast the Cruciatus Curse on Tonks. Blood pounded through Harry's head and he ran to Tonks' side.

" _REDUCTO_!" Bellatrix shouted triumphantly. The spell was heading towards a weak and defenceless Tonks when Harry roughly pushed her out of the way and took the brunt of the curse. Harry grimaced in pain. The spell had shattered the bones in his left shoulder. Harry took a deep breath and bravely got up to face Bellatrix. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Remus win his duel with the two other Death Eaters and join him. Harry and Remus duelled Bellatrix fiercely, fighting to protect Tonks and to avenge Sirius' death. Harry and Remus managed to get Bellatrix onto the back foot and Harry saw a flicker of fear appear on her face. And then she was gone. Harry screamed out in frustration. Bellatrix had Apparated away along with the rest of the Death Eaters. Harry and Remus bent down to examine Tonks, who had a look of awe, curiosity and pain on her face.

"Who are you? You saved my life. Thank you. I could never forgive myself if I had perished to that bitch," said Tonks to Harry.

"My name is not important Tonks," Harry responded. To say Tonks was surprised that Harry had known her name would be an understatement. Tonks seemed reluctant to drop the subject of Harry's identity until she saw Harry's shoulder.

"You need help. That shoulder doesn't look too good. Come with us and we'll heal you," Tonks said to Harry. Harry was in a great deal of pain by now and could hardly stand up.

Harry shook his head to indicate that he did not want to go with them. Harry then spotted Mr Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt and some Aurors approaching him. He said his farewells to both Tonks and Remus before turning into a falcon and flying away. The pain Harry felt was lessened in his bird form, which was lucky or Harry would never have made it back to Hogwarts. Harry reached the open window in the owlery and transformed back. Harry was feeling incredibly weak but found the strength to carry on. He took off his bloody robes, carefully avoiding making contact with his injured shoulder. He put on his school robes and stuffed his blood-stained battle robes into a pocket. Harry decided to go to the Hospital Wing as there was no way he could heal his injury himself. Harry was sure that Madam Pomfrey would ask some compromising questions but he needed healing. Harry left the owlery and limped down the corridor, which took a lot of effort on Harry's part. Suddenly, a hand gripped Harry's injured shoulder and Harry gasped in pain. Harry faintly detected a flowery scent that seemed familiar before the darkness that had been threatening to take over since he arrived back at Hogwarts enveloped him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Young Love**

Harry woke up to find a blinding white light in his face. Harry no longer felt the pain in his left shoulder but he felt extremely tired and dizzy. Madam Pomfrey noticed that Harry was awake and started pouring potions down his throat. Harry grimaced at the taste of these horrid potions before falling back into a deep slumber.

Twelve hours later, Harry woke up again but this time everything was dark and silent. Harry squinted at the lone clock in the Hospital Wing. It was just past midnight. Harry silently crept out of bed, thinking over everything that had happened. Someone had accidentally grabbed his injured shoulder and Harry had fallen into unconsciousness. The next thing Harry could remember was being in the Hospital Wing. It seemed as if this mystery person had taken Harry to the Hospital Wing. But who was it? Harry didn't know but he faintly remembered a flowery scent. A flowery scent that seemed familiar. Harry felt as if he should know who this person was but he just couldn't make the link. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Harry crept to the door of the Hospital Wing. Harry had been healed and Madam Pomfrey hadn't even had the chance to ask him questions. This was the perfect time to escape so that she could not enquire about the manner of how Harry got his injuries. Harry silently left the Hospital Wing and made his way to the Gryffindor Common Room. Luckily, Harry didn't run into Mrs Norris or Filch and managed to get to the portrait hole without incident. Harry gave the password to the Fat Lady and entered the Common Room. At first glance Harry thought that the Common Room was empty, however he realised there was someone sitting in the armchair closest to the fire. And not just anyone. Ginny. And she had noticed him. Harry cursed his luck and walked over to her.

"Hello Ginny," said Harry quietly once he reached her. Ginny stared at him for a few moments, with a number of different emotions flickering on her face. And then her face settled into a look that Harry recognised all too well. A look of determination. Ginny stood up and walked over to Harry, who stood frozen to the spot. Harry saw Ginny lean in and his heart began to race. And then Ginny was kissing him and he was kissing her back. Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist, bringing them closer together. The feeling of Ginny's lips on his had quite the effect on Harry. Harry felt as if his brain was going to explode soon from the pleasure of it all. Harry had never felt anything so good. He didn't know how long they stood standing there, kissing each other senseless; his thoughts were too scrambled to focus on anything else but Ginny and her wonderful, soft lips. At last a lack of air began to become a problem for them both and they pulled away reluctantly, breathing heavily.

Harry and Ginny were both grinning heavily now. Harry leaned in to kiss Ginny again but Ginny placed a hand on his chest and gently stopped him.

"As much as I would love to kiss you again I think we should talk first," Ginny said as she pulled him over to the couch. Harry nodded and sat down, waiting for Ginny to speak first.

"How long have you had feelings for me?" Ginny asked. Harry noticed that she was still smiling widely. Harry explained that he had first had feelings for her after his disastrous relationship with Cho ended, but Ginny was going out with Michael Corner at the time so he didn't act on his feelings. Harry told her that he had truly fallen in love with her during their alone time in the summer. Harry then remembered Hermione telling him that Ginny was over her crush on him and he asked her about that. Ginny explained that she technically was over her crush on Harry; her feelings for him had far surpassed a mere 'crush' after the events of her first year and had gradually deepened into love through the years. Ginny also told Harry that she had only dated Michael and Dean to try to move on from Harry as she believed that Harry would never have feelings for her. Ginny assured Harry that she was unsuccessful and had not had any real feelings for either of them, which put Harry's mind at peace and gave him the confidence to pop the question.

"Ginny I'm in love with you and I don't want to be without you for any longer. Will you be my girlfriend?" asked Harry nervously. Ginny beamed and nodded, hugging Harry before placing a light kiss on his cheek. They decided to keep their relationship a secret for a while and when Ginny realised it was almost three o'clock, they went upstairs to their respective dormitories for the night, both thinking about each other.

The next day, Harry woke up feeling refreshed and happy. He couldn't stop thinking about last night. He had kissed Ginny. The memory of how her soft lips felt against his own lips made him shudder involuntarily, desperate for more. Harry couldn't help but replay the conversation Ginny and he had shared last night and his face was starting to hurt from all that smiling. She actually loved him. He still couldn't believe it. After changing into his workout clothes and with his mind still on Ginny, Harry went down to the Room of Requirement for a training session. Whilst he was training, a couple of thoughts occurred to him. He had to tell Ginny the prophecy. He couldn't go into a relationship with her without her knowing that he would probably die soon. ' _She will probably decide that she doesn't want anything to do with me after I tell her_ ,' Harry thought grimly. The thought hurt him but there was nothing he could do about it. Harry would also need to tell her about his battle with the Death Eaters on Saturday and how he had passed out in the hallways when he came back. Harry still didn't know who had helped him to the Hospital Wing but he did not want to ask Madam Pomfrey after his escape last night. Suddenly Harry had a brilliant idea and he decided to stop his training session even though there was still more than an hour until breakfast. He raced back to his dormitory and grabbed both his Invisibility Cloak and the Marauders' Map. He then made his way to the One-Eyed Witch passage on the third floor. He climbed into the tunnel and walked quickly to Honeydukes. Harry brought some rather expensive chocolate before going to a different shop to buy a set of roses. Harry then made his way back to Hogwarts. Looking at his watch, Harry realised that breakfast had just started. He ran towards the Owlery and wrote a quick note to his girlfriend.

 _To my beautiful Ginevra,_

 _Meet me at the Room of Requirement at 7 o'clock. I need to discuss some things with you and I also need to reacquaint myself with your lovely lips. I hope you enjoy the chocolate and roses my love. I love you._

 _From Padfoot's godson_

Harry tied the chocolate, roses and the note to a school owl and told the owl to deliver the package in half an hour. Harry used the school owl so that no one would recognise who had sent it. Harry also called himself Padfoot's godson just in case someone read the note over Ginny's shoulder.

Harry then made his way to the Great Hall. When he entered he saw Ron and Hermione sitting together, while Ginny was sitting with one of her room mates. At this moment Ginny looked up and gestured him over to sit next to her. Harry was only too happy to oblige with her wishes. Harry and Ginny ate breakfast together quietly, occasionally smiling and giving suggestive looks to each other. As Ginny was about to finish her breakfast, an owl landed in front of her. Harry fought to keep a blush from appearing as he watched Ginny read the note and open the packages.

"You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now. I love you too and I'll see you at seven," Ginny whispered into Harry's ear before leaving with her friends to go to her first class.

The day went by quickly for Harry and before he knew it, the time was ten minutes to seven. Harry asked the Room of Requirement to turn into his usual training room but with a couch and a loveseat. He'd let Ginny decide where they would sit. Harry then went back outside to wait for Ginny.

A few minutes later, Harry saw Ginny come into his view. Ginny stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Harry. And then she launched herself on him, wrapping her legs around Harry's waist and kissing him intensely. Harry took a moment to support Ginny's weight before deepening the kiss. He immediately felt smug when he heard Ginny's moans of pleasure. Harry walked backwards into the Room of Requirement with Ginny's legs still wrapped around his waist and made his way to the loveseat. They both toppled over into the loveseat but they didn't break off their kiss until air became a problem yet again. Harry found himself cursing his need to breathe before recollecting himself. He took a seat on the loveseat, fixing his clothes before waiting for Ginny to join him. Harry was completely taken off guard when Ginny sat in Harry's lap instead of sitting next to him. For the briefest moment Ginny's hair covered Harry's face, forcing him to inhale a lovely flowery scent. A scent that seemed oddly familiar to Harry. As the realisation struck Harry, he couldn't help but shout out at his discovery. Ginny looked questioningly at Harry, who then explained about his mystery scent in Amortentia, which he now realised was the scent of Ginny's hair. Ginny blushed at Harry's announcement but Harry guessed that she was rather pleased. Well she did end up snogging him senseless for the next ten minutes, so it wasn't really a guess. However, Harry couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else familiar about the flowery scent of Ginny's hair. And then it struck him.

"Ginny it was you, wasn't it? You were the one that grabbed my shoulder on Saturday, right?"

Ginny looked confused for a moment before the memory of the events of Saturday night came rushing back to her.

"Oh Merlin I completely forgot. What happened to your shoulder? I was so scared when you just collapsed," Ginny hurriedly told Harry. Harry explained what he had done on Saturday. Harry noticed the look of pride on Ginny's face as he told his story and his spirits soared yet again. Ginny made Harry promise to tell her whenever he would be leaving the castle to fight so that she could wait for him and potentially heal any injuries. She also made him promise to return straight back to the castle if he was ever injured. Harry then tentatively began to tell her the contents of the prophecy that he had heard last year. It felt good for Harry to get this off his chest but he didn't miss the look of fear that crossed Ginny's face.

"Ginny I see that you're scared and I-I understand if you want to break up with me. You could be a target if Voldemort ever found out about us. Anyway you probably don't even want a relationship with a guy that has limited time left." Harry said all this while looking at the floor for he could not face Ginny. He really didn't want to break up with Ginny but if she decided that she didn't want anything to do with him, there was nothing he could do.

"Harry Potter. You are the biggest idiot that I have ever met in my life." Harry looked up at this, confused, and saw the tears on Ginny's face.

"I'm not scared for my own safety. I'm scared for you and the job you have been burdened with. I'm scared that I will lose you. But I have faith in you love. And there is no way in hell that we are breaking up. I love you. Is that so hard for you to understand? I'll be there for you. Always."

Harry couldn't believe his ears. He had thought that Ginny would no longer want anything to do with him after he told her about his destiny. Harry was never happier to be wrong. Tears welled up in Harry's eyes at Ginny's support and he wanted to show his gratitude to her but he couldn't find the right words. Nevertheless, Ginny seemed to know what he was thinking and gave him a bone-crushing hug. Harry and Ginny cuddled and kissed for a few more minutes before heading back to the Common Room and they both could not have been more pleased with the events of the past couple of days.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: First Date**

The next day, Madam Pomfrey managed to track down Harry. She lectured him for a whole fifteen minutes about why students shouldn't leave the Hospital Wing without the matron's permission. She was so angry and annoyed at Harry that she forgot to ask him what had caused his injuries in the first place, not that Harry was complaining. He was just glad that he didn't have to spout some lie to her.

For the next month, nothing but a wide smile could be seen on Harry's face, which was quite a change from last year. He and Ginny had decided to keep their relationship a secret because Harry didn't want anyone bothering them, and he wasn't sure how Ron would react. They had managed to keep their relationship a secret for a whole five days before they were caught kissing in a dark alcove. Neither Harry nor Ginny minded too much about their secret being revealed and actually ended up thanking the person who had caught them in the act and revealed their secret, which turned out to be Colin Creevey, as it had taken a huge burden off of them. Colin had also taken a beautiful picture of Harry and Ginny kissing, which Ginny had stolen from Colin. Harry was especially glad that he and Ginny could now cuddle up together in the Common Room instead of having to find someplace secret. They were still using the Room of Requirement a lot as a place to snog and talk but it was nice to know that they didn't have to hide their relationship from everyone anymore. The couple were pretty much inseparable these days and Harry began to wonder how he had ever lived without her.

Ron had taken the news of Harry and Ginny's relationship surprisingly well, which pleased Harry a lot. Ron and Hermione had then told Harry that they were together, which he already pretty much knew. Harry supposed this was the reason why Ron had not said a bad word him being Ginny's new boyfriend. Nevertheless, he congratulated them while teasing them every so often. Ron and Hermione gradually spent more and more time with Harry after their confession and it was almost back to normal for the trio.

There had also been two more Death Eater attacks; however they had been relatively small in comparison to the one in Hogsmeade. Harry had managed to help stop both of the attacks and only suffered some minor cuts in the process, which Ginny had been able to heal quickly. Remus informed Harry that the Order believed Voldemort would take longer to plan before attacking next time. Remus had also told him that Dumbledore was trying to find out the identity of the Order's new 'helper' and then proceeded to warn him to take extra care in covering his tracks to prevent Dumbledore from finding out.

Speaking of Dumbledore, the Headmaster had recently requested that Harry attend weekly lessons in his office. At first Harry had thought that Dumbledore would be teaching him some advanced defensive magic that might help him defeat Voldemort. Oh, how wrong he was. It seemed that the old man would rather teach him about Voldemort's past than train him. Harry was slightly angry about this but went along with Dumbledore's little plan anyway.

As the month of December came around, two big announcements were posted in each common room. The first was received badly by the students of Hogwarts. Students in 5th year and above would have to take exams before the Christmas holidays. If any students gained a grade lower than 'Acceptable' in any of their exams, they would be forced to attend support sessions for that subject. Apparently the professors were worried that the upper years were not taking their studies seriously enough. However, the second announcement was much better. The exams would finish on Friday 18th December and students would be allowed to visit Hogsmeade on the two days after the end of their exams. The train journey to go back home for Christmas would be on Monday 21st December. When Harry saw this announcement he immediately began to make plans for what he and Ginny would do during the Hogsmeade visits. He formed an idea and spent the next few days trying to set up everything he would need to execute his plan. Harry even had to fly to Gringotts in his Animagus form on one day to exchange some of his galleons into Muggle pounds as this was necessary for his plan.

On the morning of Saturday 19th December, Harry woke up feeling excited for the day ahead. He had been planning this day for a long time. Harry showered and changed into his best casual outfit before spraying himself with a touch of cologne. He then proceeded to walk down to the Common Room to wait for his girlfriend. The Common Room was an absolute mess. Last night, some of the older students in Gryffindor had taken it upon themselves to throw a massive party to celebrate the end of their Christmas exams. Harry and Ginny had snuck off for some alone time in the Room of Requirement and had only got back to the Common Room by the time the party was winding down. Broken butterbeer and firewhiskey bottles littered the floor and Harry presumed that the House-Elves hadn't had the chance to clean up yet. Shaking his head at the mess before him, Harry decided to sit down on one of the cleaner armchairs while he waited for Ginny to come down.

A few minutes later, Harry heard footsteps coming down the girls' staircase and he somehow just knew that it was his girl. As she came into sight, Harry literally stopped breathing. Ginny was wearing an incredibly sexy blue woollen jumper that left her shoulders bare. Her luscious hair looked as perfect as ever, flowing down her back. She also wore a pair of black denim jeans, which seemed innocent enough but they perfectly outlined her amazing figure. Even her unique intoxicating flowery scent seemed to have become stronger. ' _She's absolutely perfect,'_ thought Harry as he continued to stare at her. It was only a greeting kiss from Ginny that shook Harry out of his stupor.

"Good morning love," said Ginny with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Gin, you look utterly fantastic." Ginny blushed in response to this comment and suddenly Harry couldn't control himself any longer. He began kissing her bare shoulders before moving up to her neck, which elicited moans of pleasure from Ginny. The red-haired girl then dragged Harry's head up, meeting his lips with her own. They stayed that way for a few minutes, lost in each other, before Harry remembered his plans for today and reluctantly pulled away. He was mildly surprised to see that his hands were in a rather intimate position underneath Ginny's jumper, while her hands were under his shirt, running up and down his muscular chest. Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and dragged her down to the Great Hall for a quick breakfast before they made their way to the front gates.

As Harry walked to Hogsmeade with his girlfriend, he couldn't help but notice the differences between his current relationship and his former relationship with Cho. The walk down to Hogsmeade with Cho last year had been awkward and boring, while whenever Harry was with Ginny he felt comfortable and there was certainly never a boring moment with her. _'She's just perfect for me.'_ Harry smiled at this thought and began to pick up the pace of his walking, wanting to get into Hogsmeade quickly.

When the couple finally reached Hogsmeade, Ginny turned to her boyfriend. She took a moment to admire how perfect he looked in that tight shirt. His green eyes turned towards her and her legs suddenly felt like jelly. Those eyes always had that effect on her.

"So what are we doing today?" asked Ginny after she recollected herself. She noticed Harry nervously gulping which intrigued her.

"Let's walk to the Shrieking Shack and I'll tell you there," responded Harry. Ginny nodded, her curiosity piqued, and set off after her boyfriend.

Harry and Ginny reached the Shrieking Shack within minutes and Ginny turned to Harry expectantly. At this point, Harry started to doubt himself. _'What if she doesn't like my plans? Only one way to find out,'_ Harry thought grimly. He gathered all his Gryffindor courage and faced Ginny.

"Well Gin this is pretty much our first date so I wanted to make it special. I want to take you shopping in Muggle London," said Harry nervously. Ginny started to smile, which calmed Harry's nerves considerably.

"That's a great idea Harry but how are we going to get there?" In response, Harry pulled out one of his old socks from his back pocket. Ginny looked confused for a moment before realisation dawned on her face.

"You didn't? That's illegal. How do you even know how to make a Portkey?"

"That's for me to know and you to wonder about." Harry threw a cheeky wink at Ginny, who scowled in return. He had of course learned how to make a Portkey from Sirius' journal.

" _Portus,"_ whispered Harry while pointing his wand at the sock and thinking hard about his destination. The sock glowed faint blue for a moment before returning to normal. Harry urged Ginny to hold on to the sock before grabbing on himself. Within ten seconds, Harry and Ginny were inside the Leaky Cauldron, which was empty. Harry led Ginny out into Muggle London and made his way to the nearest Underground station, which was Leicester Square Station. Harry briefly knew how the Tube worked from his time with his relatives but he was no expert and it took him a while to figure everything out. Ginny was amazed with how the Underground station worked and took an interest when Harry ordered their tickets. The young couple boarded the Tube train hand in hand and Harry was pleased with how much Ginny enjoyed the ride. Harry had specifically selected the Tube as transport as he knew it would be the most fun for his girlfriend. Harry had to check the map several times to make sure he got off at the right stop. At last, the right stop arrived and Harry left, still holding hands with Ginny. He consulted a map in the station for a few minutes before leading Ginny to their destination: Westfield Shopping Centre. Harry only knew about this shopping centre because his Aunt Petunia had taken him and Dudley here once when they were younger. Of course she hadn't actually brought anything for Harry, but he still remembered being awed by the sheer size of the shopping centre.

When Harry led Ginny into the shopping centre, he had to try incredibly hard to hold his laughter in. Ginny was trying to look at all the different shops at once and she ended up pirouetting several times. Her normally calm demeanour was nowhere to be seen and she was incredibly excited to go to all the shops. When Ginny caught sight of Harry trying not to laugh she playfully glared at him.

"Sorry love," whispered Harry with a wink. He then took her hand and dragged her to the shops. At first Ginny was reluctant to spend Harry's money, but he managed to persuade her to buy anything she wanted and soon Harry was spending his pounds left, right and centre. Ginny picked up new clothes and makeup as well as a set of stunning earrings. She also brought many Muggle sweets, which she had really taken a liking to. Ginny even selected loads of clothes for Harry and made him model them for her. They ate burgers and chips for lunch before Harry dragged Ginny into a cinema where he let Ginny choose a film for them to watch. She wasn't sure what a film was but chose a romantic one, much to Harry's disgust. However, Harry actually enjoyed the film, although not nearly as much as Ginny, who was positively gushing about the film by the end.

By the time the couple left the cinema, it was close to four o'clock and Harry knew that they had to get back to Hogsmeade. He made another Portkey that took them back to the Shrieking Shack and they reached the Hogwarts gates at exactly quarter past four. Ginny then dragged Harry off to the Room of Requirement to intimately thank him for what she described as "the best first date ever."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Trouble on New Year's Day**

Ginny and Ron were going home for the Christmas holidays this year. Luckily for Harry, Mrs Weasley had also invited him and Hermione. Harry had gratefully accepted the invitation, while Hermione politely declined as she wanted to be with her parents for Christmas. The four of them sat with Neville on the train ride home, with everyone, except Hermione, excited to have a proper break from their studies.

The Christmas holidays began with a bang for Harry, quite literally. As soon as he walked through the front door of the Burrow, he was engulfed in a puff of smoke. As the smoke cleared, the Weasleys, even Mrs Weasley, began laughing at Harry. Harry looked questioningly at Ginny, who led him to the mirror. There, plastered on his face in what looked like lipstick were the words 'Property of Ginny Weasley'. It seemed the twins had found out about Harry and Ginny's relationship and had decided to play a prank on him. Harry, son of a Marauder and godson to another, began to plot his revenge with the help of Ginny.

On Christmas morning, Harry was awakened by Ron's shouting. Christmas was the only day Ron woke up before everyone else. After Ron saw that Harry was awake, he raced out of the room to go wake up everyone else. Fifteen minutes later Harry, Ron, Ginny, Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley and the twins were all sat around the Christmas tree, opening their Christmas presents. Bill was spending the holidays with his new girlfriend but would be coming to the Burrow for Christmas dinner, while Charlie couldn't get back to England in time for Christmas.

Ron had opened all of his presents extremely quickly, while the others were going slower and taking their time to thank everyone. Soon, Harry only had one present left to open and using process of elimination, he knew it was from his red-haired girlfriend, who was sitting next to him. He looked at her pile of presents and saw that she only had his gift left.

"Together?" Harry asked when Ginny looked up at him.

"Together," Ginny agreed. Harry unwrapped his present carefully, revealing an intricately designed photo album. Harry curiously flicked through it and was surprised when he found many pictures of him and Ginny together. He had no idea how there were even pictures of these private moments but he would have to ask her later, because at that moment he heard Ginny gasp and the next thing he knew she had crushed her lips to meet his in a passionate embrace. They stayed like that for a good twenty seconds until Harry heard Mrs Weasley clear her throat and he pulled away.

"Sorry," Harry and Ginny sheepishly said together. Mrs Weasley just smiled knowingly with a slight twinkle in her eye. Harry turned back to Ginny, who was staring reverently at the golden locket Harry had gotten her. Inside the locket was the picture Colin had taken when he had caught Harry and Ginny kissing in a dark alcove. On the back of the locket there was an inscription that read 'Together Always'. Harry took the locket from Ginny and, after he moved her hair out of the way, he put the locket around her neck. He then placed a chaste kiss on her exposed neck, which made her blush. Mrs Weasley then got up from her seat and led everyone to the kitchen for a big breakfast.

The rest of Christmas Day was amazing for Harry. He played Quidditch with Ron, Ginny and the twins and then helped Mr Weasley set up a Muggle stereo. He also helped Mrs Weasley with some of the cooking alongside Ginny. The day was full of fun and happiness and this was before Christmas dinner had even started. For Christmas dinner, Fred had invited Angelina, his girlfriend, which made the events that happened next even better. Halfway through the meal, Fred and George both took a slice of gingerbread cake. They were the only two people at the table that liked gingerbread cakes so no one had touched it yet. As soon as the cake connected with their mouths, they were engulfed in a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the twins both let out high-pitched screams. Their clothes had been replaced by a pink bra and skirt, and on their foreheads the words 'Revenge is sweet' were written. Everyone burst into laughter at the sight of them and the twins fled the table, running back to their room.

The rest of the holidays were filled with chaos and excitement for Harry. He enjoyed hanging out with Ron and the twins and he loved the private moments that he and Ginny shared. The twins had gained newfound respect for Harry and Ginny after the prank they had played at Christmas and vowed never to prank Harry again.

On New Year's Eve, the Weasleys went to bed at their usual time of eleven o'clock. Harry was surprised to find that wizards did not celebrate the New Year at all. Harry had a plan to carry out one Muggle tradition though. At five minutes to midnight, he crept out of his and Ron's room and went downstairs to Ginny's room. He quietly opened the door to find Ginny peacefully sleeping. He gently shook her awake, much to her displeasure. However, she was a bit happier after Harry explained what he wanted to do. As the clock on his watch struck midnight, Harry leaned in to kiss Ginny. She immediately deepened the kiss and they both toppled over on to her bed, with Harry on top of Ginny. They kissed for a few more minutes until Harry decided to pull away before things went too far. However, Ginny grabbed his hand before he could get off the bed.

"Sleep here with me tonight Harry," Ginny said. Harry's eyes widened at this and his mouth opened and closed like a goldfish out of water, causing Ginny to softly giggle.

"Not like that, silly. I just want to be in your arms tonight," Ginny said.

"B-But…your parents might walk in here," Harry spluttered.

"Well it's not like we're not doing anything wrong but we can use a locking charm on my door if it makes you happy," Ginny responded with a roll of her eyes.

Without giving Harry a chance to reply, Ginny reached over to her bedside table and grabbed her wand. She cast a locking charm at her bedroom door before looking back at Harry meaningfully. The Boy Who Lived could resist an Imperius Curse but he would never be able to resist Ginny's beautiful eyes. He lay down on the bed next to Ginny, who moved so that she could use his chest as a pillow. She then wrapped her arms around his stomach, while Harry wrapped his own arms around her waist.

"Goodnight love," Harry said sleepily.

"Goodnight Harry," Ginny replied. Harry faintly heard Ginny let out a contented sigh before he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Harry was awakened by a loud noise the next morning. He groggily opened his eyes and what he saw made him smile widely. Ginny's head was lying on top of his chest, with her arms tightly around his waist. Ginny looked very peaceful and Harry took a minute to admire her incredibly sexy body. Harry didn't think he'd ever slept that well before. He was shaken out of his reverie by another loud noise, which reminded him how he had woken up in the first place. At first Harry thought that it was just the twins experimenting, but he quickly noticed that the noise was coming from outside. Harry gently pushed Ginny's head onto a pillow before standing up and looking out of the window. What he saw scared the living daylights out of him. Four Death Eaters were making their way towards the garden of the Burrow. Harry quickly dressed into more practical clothes, briefly wondering how the Death Eaters had managed to break through the Burrow's wards, before awakening a disgruntled Ginny. He quickly explained what was happening to her and told her to wake up the rest of the Weasleys and tell them what was going on. Harry knew that the other Weasleys would have not have been woken up by the loud noises as their rooms were all higher up and the Weasleys were all deep sleepers. He hoped that Mr Weasley might be able to help him fight. After telling Ginny everything, Harry raced out towards the garden, ignoring Ginny's pleas for him to stop and wait for help.

Harry reached the back door just as the four Death Eaters were about to cast their first spells at the Burrow.

" _Stupefy!"_ Harry cried, knocking one of the Death Eaters unconscious. The three Death Eaters turned towards Harry, surprise written on their faces. It was clear that they had not expected any resistance. The three other Death Eaters had not even bothered to wear masks and Harry easily recognised them: Crabbe Senior, Goyle Senior and Lucius Malfoy. _'Oh this is going to be fun,'_ Harry thought to himself, before launching into battle with the Death Eaters.

Harry quickly found that duelling three Dark Wizards at the same time was harder than it seemed, especially as Malfoy's duelling ability was close to Bellatrix's. Harry had to constantly dodge Unforgivables, which meant that he didn't get much time to go on the offensive. However, he managed to hit Goyle Senior with a Full-Body Bind Jinx after a minute of fierce duelling, which left two remaining opponents. Unfortunately, Harry underestimated Crabbe Senior, who seemed to work very well with Lucius Malfoy. They soon cornered Harry and Lucius managed to hit Harry's leg with a Cutting Curse, evoking a loud scream of pain from Harry. Harry fell to his knees, and a gleeful look crossed Malfoy's face. And then Crabbe Senior made the stupid mistake of putting his wand down, thinking that the fight was over. Harry quickly Stunned him and, ignoring the pain in his leg, bravely stood up to face Malfoy. Harry thought about how Lucius Malfoy had been the cause of so much pain for Ginny in her first year and he was overcome with a fierce rage. He began to fire spells at Malfoy with blinding speed and accuracy. Poor Lucius never stood a chance. The duel lasted just twenty seconds before Harry hit Malfoy with a powerful Reductor Curse, shattering Lucius' ribcage. Lucius crumpled to the ground, barely conscious. Harry began to limp over to Lucius to take his wand away. He could have easily Disarmed him but he wanted the pleasure of taking Malfoy's wand from his grasp and snapping it. This proved to be a great mistake. When Malfoy saw Harry coming towards him, he lifted his wand and shouted " _Sectumsempra!"_ before collapsing. Harry was caught off guard as he thought that Malfoy was unconscious. Therefore, he had no chance of blocking the spell and it struck him on his right bicep. The pain was almost unbearable and Harry began to lose blood at an alarming rate, especially as he had already been hit with a Cutting Curse to the leg. The pain soon overwhelmed Harry and he briefly heard a feminine scream before he keeled over, fading into unconsciousness.


End file.
